Benefits of Meditation and Mindfulness
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Mindfulness has been the 'flavour of the month' for health books recently. I think of mindfulness as focusing on the present and being in the moment and a technique to deal with stress and anxiety in our busy lives. And indeed, many recent titles on mindfulness are about mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR).
Because stress is a contributing factor to various diseases, meditation and mindfulness may have health benefits beyond lowering stress. For example, meditation together with light treatment has been shown to be more effective than light treatment alone for psoriasis. MBSR techniques also had positive short-term and long-term effects in terms of pain and overall well-being, for patients with fibromyalgia.
Recent research has shown the intriguing results of meditation reducing the rate of brain aging as well as affecting the length of telomeres of breast cancer survivors. Telomeres protect chromosomes from damage; longer telomeres are believed to protect against disease.
However, meditation doesn't help with all conditions. For example, one recent study showed that meditation alone did not lower blood pressure and another study found no evidence of meditation helping with weight loss. But even without these benefits, meditation can help you manage your stress, reduce negative emotions and improve your emotional well-being.
For more about the health benefits of meditation, you can check out one of the titles below or attend one of the library's meditation programs:
12 thoughts on “Benefits of Meditation and Mindfulness”
Thanks for this post, Cathy! If readers are interested, we will be running a Mahasati Meditation class at Lillian H. Smith Branch, starting May 13, 2015. Details here: http://www.tpl.ca/detail.jsp?Entt=RDMEVT14617&R=EVT14617
Thanks for this! Your timing is serendipitous and the resources are just what I’m looking for right now. I’ve requested a book from the list, too.
Nice article!
I have just started an MBSR course 2 weeks ago. Try to practice bodyscan everyday. Really hard to find time, but this is also a test for willpower.
Really interested in the mindulness workbook in the list.
Sarah–thanks for the reminder. I planned to, but forgot to mention all the meditation-related programs the library offers. I’ve added the information to the post, so anyone who is interested can click on the link.
You’re most welcome, Marie. Keep an eye out for new titles on meditation and mindfulness.
Hi Sean, you’re absolutely right that mindfulness is a test of willpower. In fact, I first tried mindfulness meditation at a program called The Neuroscience of Willpower. I found the exercise to be incredibly difficult. If you are interested, this presentation will be offered at College/Shaw library on June 11 at 7 pm. Good luck with your course!
Mindfulness meditation has been shown to boost the immune response to a vaccination, and meditation has also been shown to reduce the body’s immune response to stress, such as that evoked by prolonged strenuous activity.
That’s interesting about meditation and vaccines–I’ll have to look into it further. Thanks for your comment.
Thank Cathy for the post and list of books.
You’re most welcome.
Hello, When the chaotic thoughts, the rising emotions, repetitive stories we tell ourselves, the voices in our heads, the limiting beliefs, defeatist attitudes or the instant fix ideologies raise their ugly heads.We become confused to what to do.In that critical condition we can’take refuge in ourselves through meditation.
This post is actually really inspiring for me, thank you!